Tag Archives: Cooking

Wellness

Making good use of your oven

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I do a lot of cooking and l try to be as resourceful as l can. Since l have stopped using the Microwave oven for anything other than heating a wheat bag, it is tempting to turn on the oven to heat up small things. I have had to be inventive and often use my griller, have the meals cold or heat the food in a steamer. Using the oven can be expensive and l like to have a cooking day where l keep it full for quite a few hours and cook lots of different types of dishes. Yesterday was one of those days where l roasted a chicken in the top half of the oven and had trays of chopped up beetroot and pumpkin on the lower trays. I used half of the roasted beetroot for a salad and the other half for beetroot hummus. The roasted pumpkin was also for the salad.

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As the oven was hot l also decided to whip up a double batch of my chocolate chip cookies. After some taste testing the remainder went into the freezer, ready to be placed into lunch boxes when needed. Cooking like this means l may only use the oven a couple of times a week.

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Last week after cooking a roast chicken l made some ginger bread men for my children, and a couple of apple and cinnamon cakes which l slice into single serves and freeze for the lunch box (all gluten free of course)

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In the past I used my oven to dehydrate the activated nuts but l found it was a real problem to have the oven out of action for any other cooking and l didn’t like to have the oven running all day. Now that l have a dehydrator the problem is solved as l can run the dehydrator on very low temperatures and use my oven as l please.

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Recipes

Organic Coconut oil

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Coconut oil is a must have item in your pantry and can be included in small amounts in your diet each day. The only oils l use in my diet are cold flax oil, extra virgin olive oil and organic coconut oil. These are examples of brands of coconut oil that are available. I have seen many similar ones like the one on the left in the glass jar in the supermarket, health food shops and pharmacies. I bought this one locally for around $6 but most are approximately $10 for a similar size jar. I use a small amount when cooking with the non stick fry pan or when roasting foods in the oven. It adds a lovely flavour to the food. If you are a serious user of coconut oil then the 1.4 Litre tub is an amazing product which l buy online from iherb. It is around $35 for the huge tub which will last a few months. This coconut oil is so creamy and smells delicious. I use this one in my baking such as in chocolate chip cookies and cakes. The one with the blue label is my most recent purchase and comes in a glass jar that l will be able to use in my pantry when it is empty. As soon as the lid is opened the most delicious smell emerges. I purchased it online from Bulk Wholefoods for around $25. Some people eat a spoon of coconut oil straight out of the jar but l am not at that stage just yet!

Recipes, Wellness

Mixed Berry smoothie

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This is really delicious any time of the day. I love smoothies and have only recently started eating the frozen berries and they add a wonderful crunchy coolness!

Ingredients:

Spinach or kale chopped roughly

Half a green apple with the skin on or a whole small one

One small just ripe banana peeled and broken into smallish pieces

Black chia seeds (one tablespoon)

Frozen mixed berries (1 cup)

Filtered water (1 cup)

Method:

Place it all in the blender and blend until smooth.

I eat mine with a spoon because l like them to be nice and thick, but you can add more water if you want it thinner.

Pour into two glasses and enjoy.

Recipes

Mixed berry pancakes-gluten, dairy and sugar free

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If l am not having some kind of egg dish for breakfast then l have these delicious pancakes.

In a blender place the following:

A generous 1/2 cup of frozen mixed berries (blackberries, blueberries and raspberries)

1 cup of filtered water (or cold tap water) or a little more depending on the flour used.

Two eggs

1 cup of flour such as (1/2 cup buckwheat flour and 1/2 cup coconut flour)

1/4 cup quinoa flakes

Blend well. If the mix is too thick just add some more water. The quinoa flakes will slowly make the mixture thicker as they absorb the water so it is best to let it sit for a while then add more water.

Cook on a non stick fry pan with a little extra virgin olive oil or organic coconut oil. It is better to have a few small pancakes rather than one big one as the larger ones don’t hold together. A pancake the size of an egg ring is ideal and the mixture is best used within about two days.

Serve drizzled with maple syrup! (not maple flavoured syrup) and more fresh berries if you love them.

Recipes

Chicken broth with garlic and parsley

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If you are feeling under the weather or need a pick me up then this is the answer. My eighty plus year old uncle recently shared the secret to his longevity as being the regular consumption of this delicious broth, so l decided to have a go at making it and it is amazing!

First off l bought a really good quality organic chicken which l cooked and used for a couple of meals. With the leftover carcass make a delicious chicken stock. If you haven’t done it before then this is what to do:

Place the chicken carcass in a large stainless steel pot and cover with cold water. Add the following to the pot:

1 onion chopped up

2 or 3 celery sticks chopped into a few pieces

2 medium sized carrots chopped up

several bay leaves

a small dash of white vinegar

A couple of pinches of black peppercorns

Put the lid on and bring to the boil. Let the pot simmer most of the day. Strain so just the liquid is left. I used a stainless steel sieve and carefully poured the hot liquid into a big heat proof container (or use another saucepan).

To make the soup smash a section of garlic and place in a bowl. Use a ladle to fill the bowl with soup and watch as the garlic infuses into the soup. The smell is amazing. Place some roughly chopped flat leaf parsley into the bowl. Serve.

Note: This recipe makes several litres of stock. This can be placed into small containers and frozen for later use. Alternatively divide the stock into two and place the first half in the fridge/freezer and with the second half put it back on the stove and add extra vegetables such as pumpkin, celery, carrot and cauliflower to make a yummy chicken and vegetable soup.

Recipes

Red quinoa tabouli

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This is very delicious and as it is made with quinoa is gluten free! I have never had red quinoa before but was feeling adventurous and it tastes really good.

Mix all of the following ingredients together, place in a nice bowl, cover with cling wrap and let cool in the fridge for a few hours before serving.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups cooked red quinoa (cooled)

Juice of one lemon (ideally fresh)

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

1 cup of roughly chopped fresh parsley

1/4 cup of roughly chopped fresh mint

1 lebanese cucumber diced (or 1/2 a continental cucumber)

6 small roma tomatoes (or a couple of larger ones) diced.

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

If you can tolerate shallots then add a few chopped up depending on your tastes.